Comments on: Flag Is Empty

By: A. Hinchman

A. Hinchman — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 00:57:52 +0000

In reply to Mat Pesch. Perfect example right here. If you have a beautiful hotel in Tampa, it's not hard to rent rooms. Basically, I don't think they're trying to get "everyone" in as they may have in the past. This is a very specialized service.

By: RK

RK — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:47:12 +0000

When I went to Flag for training, my organization was paying $1,100/week for my lodging. This wasn’t in the Ft. Harrison. It was at an apartment complex where staff were living. I got there at 11:00 PM, exhausted from traveling and the long process to route in. I waited over an hour for someone to help me. Finally I was given a room in an empty apartment. The bathroom had black mold on the ceiling and damage from water leaks was visible in the bedroom. I spent the next day cleaning the space after having to buy cleanser, etc. from a store nearby. The place was noisy with staff coming home on buses and standing outside my window smoking and talking until wee hours of the morning. One night I came home and found another family living in the apartment. I found someone who told me that I had been moved. He walked me over to a new apartment, which I had to clean once again on my own dime. Another night, I came home to find that my room had been “cleaned” by taking all of the bedding to be washed. I slept in my clothes on a bare mattress. Another time, someone showed up at my door demanding proof that I had paid for the room, because she wanted to move 12 staff into the 2 bedroom apartment. The laundry room had 6 inches of water on the floor. Staff would come home and find the electricity to their living spaces turned off until they cleaned (including vacumning) their space. This required that they disturb their neighbors to string electric cords to the other apartments. I checked to see if I could move into better lodging, but I was told that it would cost $2,500 per week to stay anywhere else. I was there 3 months. I finished my training as fast as I could and got out of there. If I had been better prepared or knew the conditions, I would have arranged to rent a room in a house and paid for a rental car. It would have been nicer, more stable, and cheaper. My whole view of Flag was tarnished by that trip. Flag is not for normal people. It is for the very rich and slaves who serve them.

By: Eugene K

Eugene K — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 18:15:56 +0000

In reply to Hallie Jane. Thank you :)

By: Cindy

Cindy — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:04:28 +0000

In reply to edge. And did they take the auditing look in systems out of the auditing rooms before they made it into a hotel? Or are they watching you undress?

By: Hallie Jane

Hallie Jane — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 05:00:59 +0000

In reply to Eugene K. Astute comment!

By: Pepper

Pepper — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 04:46:51 +0000

In reply to Mat Pesch.

Thank you, Mat. Its always good to hear this data from someone who worked inside as you did.

I also immediately thought of insolvency reading your post. It’s an ominous picture. The shift of focus from services to buildings and books makes total sense, as the pretend empire crumbles.

What will be next?

By: Aquamarine

Aquamarine — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 03:04:02 +0000

In reply to Mat Pesch. Very interesting data, Matt. Thank you

By: edge

edge — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 02:48:39 +0000

So I guess it goes without saying that they expect you to eat at their restaurants as well? Do they send you to ethics if they find out you eat at a non-Sci restaurant?

Oh, and is it true you don’t get cable in their hotel rooms?

By: Hallie Jane

Hallie Jane — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:14:06 +0000

In reply to War Horse. :)

By: Mike Rinder

Mike Rinder — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:34:06 +0000

In reply to WhiteStar.

No, the IRS believed the church’s refund policy was an indicia of a quid pro quo transaction and thus nondeductible. But the church could not pretend such a policy did not exist (which would have been far easier), so defended it on the basis that it was not due to being a commercial transaction but that it was required due to being a religious tenet of Scientology — “the doctrine of exchange” ie that it is spiritually harmful to recieve without giving.

I am not making this up. It is clearly in the IRS record.

It is also laid out in Garcia lawsuit.

It was not a requirement for exemption, in fact in many ways it was the opposite, a barrier to exemption.

The Hernandez Supreme Court Case and the IRS Administrative record go into the “doctrine of exchange” in some detail.

Pity they don’t apply it any more — probably mistranscribed by some SP typist back in the day and no longer part of “modern Scientology.” Otherwise why do they no longer even give repayments. Let alone how they keep taking money from people and giving them nothing except hot air and CGI videos…